2017 Focus Hatchback

[ar5boosted]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

I haven't driven one either, but with all the terrible things I've heard, now I want to. Just to see what the fuss is about!

Renault use the same transmission in their Clio's but with their own software and don't have significant problems.

My own car has a traditional TC which I really do like a lot for it's smoothness but on the racetrack I have to say that the EDC/Dual-Clutch is the bee's-nuts.

It changes so fast - just love - love - love.

Don't know if I'd buy the non-RS Focus, but Ford tried.

[niky]

Originally Posted by Hersbird

Some of the problems if not most of them with the Ford dual clutch auto is just that it doesn't act like either a manual or an automatic. It's different, so many drivers just think it's wrong. Sort of like some of the "problems" with a CVT. So if it rolls back on a slight hill it's broken not just being a manual. If it doesn't shift when you wanted it's broken not just being an automatic. That said my brother in law bought a current style Focus used with 120,000 miles on it but did get the real manual just in case. The DCT problems got him a good deal on it as well as the poor reliability marks on review sites rarely break it down to say it's just the automatics with transmission issues.

The problems with Honda's CVTs on the first generation Fit were not behavioral. The durability of those things was horrible in stop-and-go traffic. The clutch packs simply burn out way too fast. This is why the Fit that followed went back to a traditional automatic.

The new CVTs use a torque converter because it's more reliable than a dry clutch system.

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RE: Ford DCTs: If it were just the shuddering and jerking, it would be no big deal. The reason there's a class action suit over the transmission is that it shudders, jerks, slurs, refuses to shift, etcetera. I once drove a new DCT vehicle with just 3,000 miles on the odometer. Not a media unit (media mules are infamous for being beaten to hell and back)... the clutch packs were a shuddering, jerky mess. And the car wasn't even due for its first PMS yet! Keep driving it like that and the clutches will, I'm pretty sure, be gone before 20,000 miles. I've driven VW and Hyundai DCTs, and they were nowhere near that bad.

There are reports of total failures, transmission control modules going kaput and etcetera. I've had friends with the dual clutch Focus diesels (the last global generation not sold in the US) who've had to buy the entire transmission because it blew out of warranty. Not exactly cheap.

Supposedly the newer ones are better, but there's a good reason the new Focuses we're getting have traditional six speed autos. The DCT was just a royal pain in the ass, and a complete consumer relations nightmare for the brand.

Drive those DCTs mostly in light traffic or on the highway, and they're sweet. Near-imperceptible shifts. Quick action, smooth. A whole lot better than a manual and more satisfying in "feel" than CVTs.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Despite the slip, which has been decreased considerably in newer torque converters with lock-up, they're usually going to last longer than a dry clutch under heavy load conditions and harsher environments.

Originally Posted by ar5boosted

Renault use the same transmission in their Clio's but with their own software and don't have significant problems.

Renault using a Ford transmission? That's new to me. OTOH I do remember some older Brazilian Fords fitted with Renault engines...

[pete c]

Originally Posted by Hersbird

Some of the problems if not most of them with the Ford dual clutch auto is just that it doesn't act like either a manual or an automatic. It's different, so many drivers just think it's wrong. Sort of like some of the "problems" with a CVT. So if it rolls back on a slight hill it's broken not just being a manual. If it doesn't shift when you wanted it's broken not just being an automatic. That said my brother in law bought a current style Focus used with 120,000 miles on it but did get the real manual just in case. The DCT problems got him a good deal on it as well as the poor reliability marks on review sites rarely break it down to say it's just the automatics with transmission issues.

The problem isn't that it shifts differently, or weitd, like a cvt drone. The problem is that it shifts like a POS. It shudders terribly. The weird thing is, if you just flog it like...well, a rental, it actually does OK. It is normal driving that it doesn't like.

For the life of me, I don't understand how a company with the engineering resources of Ford, let this turd come to market.

[pete c]

Since getting the oil changed on Friday, the tranny seems to be behaving itself, mostly. Still get the typical shudder off the line, but much better than it was. Don't see how there could be a relation, but who knows?